Las Vegas, NV, USA; General view of the Mandalay Bay where the Denver Nuggets will play the LA Clippers on October 18, 2014. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Congratulations to the San Antonio Spurs on winning the 2013-14 NBA Championship. With the NBA season officially over, Las Vegas has already posted the odds of teams winning the 2014-15 NBA Finals. The Spurs are listed as 8:1 to repeat. The Miami Heat are listed as 5:2 to take back their title. The Denver Nuggets are currently listed as 60:1 odds to win the 2014-15 championship.
Obviously, Las Vegas championship odds made this early have to be taken with a smile and a grain of salt. The NBA Draft and free agency will greatly impact these odds. The actual playing of the games which includes injuries and the human element will manipulate the odds throughout the season. Still, it’s fun to look at the odds the day after the NBA offseason begins.
Las Vegas Insider is the website I selected to take my numbers from because they also neatly break down the odds into conferences. I’m not about to tell anybody the Denver Nuggets are winning the NBA Finals next season. I will tell anybody who listens that I believe the Nuggets will make the playoffs next season.
This Vegas website has the Nuggets at 30-1 odds to win the Western Conference placing them 10th overall just behind the Los Angeles Lakers. Interestingly enough, the Oklahoma City Thunder (5:2) are favored to win the Western Conference over the newly crowned champion San Antonio Spurs (3:1).
While writing this article, I learned the Denver Nuggets will playing the Los Angeles Clippers in a preseason game on October 18th in Las Vegas at the Mandalay Bay Events Center. The only other 2014-15 confirmed Denver Nuggets game is October 6th in San Diego versus the Los Angeles Lakers.
I wonder how different the Las Vegas Championship odds will look come preseason?